NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – MTA Chairman Pat Foye is warning state lawmakers that the cash-strapped transit agency may have to take “draconian actions" if it doesn’t get a $12 billion federal bailout to make it through next year.
“We have never, New York has never — even during the Great Depression of the 1930s — seen ridership declines as severe and as sustained as those we are experiencing right now,” Foye warned at a virtual hearing by the state Legislature on Tuesday, adding that "our sole focus now is on survival."
Ridership is still down 75% on the subway and 80% on commuter rails because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Foye said at the current ridership levels, the MTA is losing $200 million a week and needs $12 billion in federal aid, with its deficit projected to reach $10 billion by next year. Without the money, riders could face fare hikes and service cuts.
“Fiscal calamity may force us to take draconian actions in the following areas,” Foye said. “First, wage freezes. Second, fare and toll hikes above those planned. Third, reductions in service and reductions in workforce as a last resort.”
Among some of the cuts being considered would be a 40% service reduction on subways and buses and a 50% reduction on commuter rails, such as the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. Some routes may be eliminated entirely.
During a special board meeting Wednesday, Foye said resident discounts could be also eliminated on MTA bridges and tunnels, and peak pricing would be in place. The MTA currently operates seven bridges in New York City – the Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck, Verrazzano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial – and two tunnels – the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.
“Eliminating resident discounts would save over $65 million annually,” explains MTA CFO Robert Foran. “Implementing peak period pricing could generate over $100 million annually.”
Additionally, the MTA is looking to cut over 7,000 jobs if they do not receive any help from the federal government. Though, Foye notes that is a “worst-case scenario.”
“No one at the MTA… wants to take any of the actions that we outlined today,” Foye stressed. “No one wants to cut service. No one wants to eliminate the jobs of anybody in the organization, including our operating colleagues who were heroes during the pandemic, which I’ll note is not over.”
“We’re incredibly respectful of the distress that the mere discussion of these alternatives causes in our employees and our customers,” the CEO noted, adding that they were necessary to outline.
All of the cuts would still only make up less than half of the MTA’s deficit.
Foye has already said that the agency already exhausted the $4 billion in CARES Act funding back in late July and that “frankly, we can’t wait any longer for additional help.”
He said the survival of public transportation in New York is “squarely in the hands of the federal government.” He warned that “continued federal indifference and inertia will exact a heavy toll in human terms.”
While none of the proposals have yet to be implemented, transit workers are already pushing back. Transit Workers Union president John Samuelson says the MTA can expect zero concessions from the union.
“It's not our problem and we’re not gonna open up our contracts, I just wanna make that clear,” he told the MTA leadership on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Riders Alliance is rallying support to put pressure on Congress to save the MTA.
"Time is running out and Congress must act now to save millions of riders who depend on trains, buses, and paratransit to get around. Letting the MTA fail would reverse the progress we've made toward recovery, leave millions of riders stranded and tank the national economic revival,” said organizing manager Stephanie Burgos-Veras in a statement. "Transit riders need Congress to come together and pass a COVID aid bill now. A fair and fast recovery means leaders in Washington must save the transit system that is the lifeblood of New York and the engine of access and opportunity for New Yorkers."